by James Forryan

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"Like the legend of the Phoenix, I've just eaten a whole packet of chocolate HobNobs..."
Editor, hmv.com

This Month's Vinyl Picks: June 2018

Father John Misty, 5 Seconds of Summer and Johnny Marr are among the brand new vinyl releases heading your way in June...

Father John Misty – God's Favorite Customer

Bella Union Records

Little more than a year on from his superb third album Pure Comedy, Josh Tillman is back this month with his fourth. God's Favorite Customer features 10 new tracks including 'Mr. Tillman', 'Just Dumb Enough to Try' and 'Disappointing Diamonds Are The Rarest Of Them All', featuring a variety of collaborators including Mark Ronson, The Haxan Cloak and Weyes Blood, among several others.

The album arrives on all formats on June 1st including two vinyl editions; a standard black version and a limited edition red vinyl version which is exclusively available at hmv.

Johnny Marr – Call the Comet

New Voodoo

Since the Smiths disbanded at the very end of the 1980s, guitarist Johnny Marr's output has been fairly prolific, having enjoyed stints in bands such as Electronic, The The, The Cribs and Modest Mouse, among others, but it wasn't until 2013 that Marr began releasing solo albums under his own name. Solo debut The Messenger was followed in 2014 by Playland and this month he returns with his third full-length offering.

Call the Comet was announced in March along with the release of the album's lead-off single The Tracers. The album is is set to arrive in stores on on all formats June 15th, and in addition to a standard black vinyl there's also a limited edition version pressed onto purple vinyl.

Ben Howard – Noonday Dream

Island Records

Ben Howard's sophomore album I Forget Where We Are took the singer-songwriter to the top of the UK Album Chart, a feat he'll be hoping to repeat when he unleashes his third LP this month.

Noonday Dream is set to arrive in stores on June 1st and there are two vinyl editions available; a standard black edition and a limited edition version pressed onto clear vinyl, both of which arrive with other formats on the first of the month.

Florence and the Machine – High As Hope

Virgin EMI Records

Florence Welch and co. return at the end of June with their fourth full-length offering High As Hope. Featuring production from the likes of Emile Haynie, Doveman and Tobias Jesso Jr., the new LP contains 10 brand new tracks and contributions from Sampha, Jamie xx and Andrew Wyatt.

The album is set to arrive in stores on June 29th and boasts two vinyl options; a standard black version and a limited edition pressed onto yellow vinyl.

5 Seconds of Summer – Youngblood

Capitol

Australian pop-punk quartet 5 Seconds of Summer return this month with their third full-length offering, announced in April via the band's Twitter feed alongside the unveiling of the album's lead-off single 'Want You Back', the video for which has been busily racking up millions of views ever since.

The new album is called Youngblood and is due to make its arrival in stores on June 22nd, including two vinyl versions – a standard black version and a limited edition version pressed onto coloured vinyl which is exclusively available at hmv.

Ghost – Prequelle

Spinefarm

Swedish metal band Ghost have been putting a theatrical spin on the genre since their 2011 debut Opus Eponymous and, up until last year the true identities of Papa Emeritus and his band of nameless ghouls had remained a closely guarded secret. However, in 2017 a bitter legal dispute between the band's members saw all of Ghost's members except their frontman unmask themselves, with the resulting lawsuit also revealing 'Papa' to be an alias of former Repugnant guitarist and lead vocalist Tobias Forge.

The lawsuit has yet to be settled, but that hasn't deterred the band's only remaining permanent member from embarking on a fourth album, Prequelle, which is due to arrive in stores this month. There are as many as three different vinyl versions available, all of which are limited editions. The first is pressed onto clear and silver swirl vinyl, the second is a deluxe edition pressed onto gold vinyl which also includes an additional 7”, while the third is a clear and black swirl edition which is exclusively available at hmv.

Kamasi Washington – Heaven & Earth

Young Turks

Even if you're not a huge fan of jazz, it's likely you'll have heard at least some of Kamasi Washington's performances, with the Los Angeles-born saxophonist having appeared on countless records by everyone from Herbie Hancock and George Duke to Kendrick Lamar and Snoop Dogg. Washington has also appeared on four albums with Throttle Elevator Music and another four as a member of the Gerald Wilson Orchestra, as well as self-releasing three albums before recording his debut proper, The Epic, for Brainfeeder in 2015.

An EP named Harmony of Difference arrived in 2017, but this month sees Washington return with a full-length follow-up to his 2015 debut. Heaven & Earth was announced in April and is an ambitious double album split into two halves, which Washington describes thus: “The Earth side represents the world as I see it outwardly, the world that I am a part of. The Heaven side represents the world as I see it inwardly, the world that is a part of me.” The vinyl edition arrives along with other formats on June 22nd and the vinyl edition is a double-gatefold 2LP set on black vinyl.

The Orb – No Sounds are Out of Bounds

Cooking Vinyl

Alex Patterson returns with a 15th album as The Orb this month alongside his longtime collaborator Thomas Fehlman. The duo's recent output has included collaborative albums with Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and legendary reggae pioneer Lee 'Scratch' Perry, but where their last two albums have been described by Patterson as “streamlined, techno-style albums”, this time he says he “wanted to try something with more musicians and more voices.”

To do that he's recruited various collaborators including Killing Joke's Martin 'Youth' Glover, former Public Image Ltd. bassist Jah Wobble and ambient artist Roger Eno (Brian's brother). The new album arrives in stores on June 22nd, including a 2LP black vinyl edition.

Guns 'n' Roses – Appetite for Destruction

UMC

The 1987 debut album from L.A.-based hard rock outfit Guns 'n' Roses helped earn the five-piece their reputation as 'the most dangerous band in the world' and catapulted them to mainstream success, going on to sell 30 million copies worldwide.

The reissue coming in June is available in many lavish formats, including this superb limited edition 2LP set featuring the newly remastered album and a holographic image etched into side 2 of the second disc. The reissue is set to arrive in stores on June 29th.

Wire – Pink Flag

Pink Flag

The trio of albums released by post-punk outfit Wire between 1977 and 1979 were some of the most influential of the era and the band's work has been cited as an influence by the likes of R.E.M., The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, Henry Rollins, Johnny Marr and Bloc Party, among many others.

Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154 have been released on vinyl a number of times, but these newly remastered vinyl reissues are due to arrive on stores on June 22nd and if you want all three you can take advantage of the bundle offer and save yourself a few quid (more details here).